28 Dec What are the Anti-Family Forces Up To?

Years ago, a wise teacher offered some good advice on New Year’s Resolutions: Make only one; just one – preferably a simple-to-do one. Break a goal down into parts to be accomplished on multiple years if necessary, but choose one thing you can give your total attention to. He reminded us that we would live a long time and that we would eventually accomplish a lot of goals if we just kept our resolution simple and accomplished one thing each year.

At United Families International, as we review what we have accomplished this past year, it appears that the luxury of choosing just one thing to focus on has not been our option. The warriors in this great battle for the future of the natural family have multiple areas and multiple fronts to fight. Since most of the battles originate at the UN, our focus starts there.

For example, our fellow warrior and friend, Maureen Proctor warns about the UN:

What happens at the U.N. level, however, is just invisible to the rest of us as we live out our frantic lives. In fact, it seems quite impossible to imagine that anything that happens there could impact us or make our children’s lives more difficult. Unbeknownst to the rest of us, what happens at the U.N. level regarding family will greatly impact us. Yet, most of us are hardly aware about issues at the UN or, even worse, understand the assaults on family and religious freedom that are creeping upon us closer to home.When anybody takes the time to understand the threat to the family, they are generally horrified. At the same time, those who have studied this threat and have seen it first hand, are often labeled as “extreme” for their efforts. How, indeed, could they be so worked up over nothing? Trust me, it is not nothing.

Maureen is right – it isn’t “nothing.” The natural family is being assaulted from all quarters and in most political and cultural arenas.

Here is a partial review of the agenda the anti-family forcesare planning for the upcoming year?Religious Freedom

Removal or weakening of religious conscience exemptions, such as, the ability of medical personnel to exempt themselves from participating in abortions or dispensing abortifacient drugs; forcing businesses to pay for contraception and other procedures against their religious beliefs; businesses being forced to provide services and meet the demands of same-sex individuals.

Outspoken and aggressive international groups like AWID continue to work within the UN system and have identified citizens with religious convictions as “religious fundamentalists” and public enemy number one. These groups insist that the religious voice and opinion has no place in culture or politics, warning that religious individuals are roadblocks to “progressive” ideals and the source of oppression to women, to women’s rights and to individuals who engage in same-sex behaviors.

Continued resistance from international groups to acknowledge the value of traditional values, religion, and cultural norms.

Parental Rights

Look for an intensified effort in the U.S. to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and another run at trying to ratify the Convention on Disabilities both of which diminish and distract from parents’ rights to determine the care and education of their children.

Parental consent is viewed as a “cultural and religious barrier” that must be removed in order for children to access “family planning, safe and legal abortion, and other reproductive health services, recognizing that young people have autonomy over their own bodies, pleasures, and desires.”

Educational choice continues to be under attack and legal precedent is being created that threatens all parents who selected homeschooling for their children.

Marriage & Family

Using young people (youth) as a mouthpiece for a radical anti-family agenda – putting on conferences that purport to have a consensus on what young people want and need. Then they will take this contrived “consensus” before UN bodies to demand, among other things, unfettered access to abortion and “sexual rights.”

There are two cases involving same-sex marriage that will be ruled on by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013.

Expect intense efforts in Britain, Uruguay, and New Zealand to legalize same sex-marriage while in the U.S. expect same-sex advocates to push for same-sex marriage initiatives in New Jersey,Minnesota, Illinois, and Delaware.

Life

Continued misinformation and lies regarding the need to legalize abortion in order to reduce maternal mortality rates.

Continued mantra and insistence that “access to abortion is a human right” when no such right exists and international documents and treaties do not support that position.

Traditionally pro-life countries like Ireland, Philippines, and Poland are under extreme pressure to legalize abortion.

Our New Year’s Resolution

The dedicated and passionate staff and volunteers of United Families International will continue to:

INFORM: Through our educational materials, blog, weekly alerts and our World Family News Website, we offer citizens and the electorate the latest information as to the challenges and opportunities that exist to protect their family and their freedoms.

EQUIP: Give you quality information and research so you are equipped to have an impact in your sphere of influence.

SUPPORT: United Families State Chapters will be at their various legislatures pushing for pro-family/pro-life bills and initiatives and giving support to those who share your values and concerns. We’ll be at the UN to stop the anti-family agenda there and to give support to like-minded delegations from around the world.

UNITE & MOBILIZE: Together we can be a force for good. That is what our opposition fears – our ability to organize and unite. Citizens that are educated, passionate, and united on an issue can accomplish anything.

We invite you to see a compilation of reports on UFI’s successes and challenges of the past year. You may wonder how we can possibly accomplish so much on so many fronts. In a very real way we HAVE followed the wise teacher’s advice. Our single focus is to secure a future for YOUR family —one battle at a time. We thank you for your continued support and ask that you please make a year-end donation to help sustain us in our efforts. We can’t do it without your help.